Home & Design

LCA Awards: Blank Slate

Surrounds, Inc., transforms a flat, empty Leesburg property into a pastoral retreat

Clients building a custom home in Leesburg, Virginia, tapped landscape architect Chad Talton of Surrounds, Inc., to join the design team early on and create an overall outdoor plan from scratch. He helped site the house and devised a design that would regrade the flat lot to avoid drainage problems.

What was once an empty field is now an expansive,  peaceful landscape distinguished by boxwood hedges, large trees, and serene gardens—all centered around a pool and a pool house that mirrors the French Country style of the main home. “The clients wanted a very manicured space,” Talton explains. “We tried to keep it relatively clean and provide screening from other houses, but also keep it open.”

Visitors are greeted by yellow roses and an ever-changing array of annuals. Sweeping green lawns in the backyard hide a geothermal heating system while creating play space for the clients’ children. Fountain grasses, liriope, astilbe and Russian sage impart texture and color.

An allée of Natchez crape myrtles amid a bank of hydrangeas flanks the path from the garage to the backyard. A fountain beckons visitors making their way to the pool in back.

The pool house, designed by Talton, features stone accents and a tongue-and-groove pine ceiling. It houses a wet bar, refrigerator and changing rooms. Travertine keeps the pool deck cool, with bluestone edging for contrast. Integrated lighting and arcs of water from built-in deck jets enhance the ambiance.

Award: Grand, Total Residential Contracting (Design/Build). Architecture & Construction: Creighton Enterprises, Inc., Leesburg, Virginia. Landscape Architecture: Chad Talton, RLA, ASLA, Surrounds, Inc., Sterling, Virginia. Pool & Fountain Basin: Town & Country Pools, Inc., Springfield, Virginia.

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